When wall to wall broadloom carpeting becomes worn, typically the carpeting is removed and new carpeting is put in its place. While this may be effective for conventional carpeting which is tacked down to existing or cooperating flooring, more difficulties may be encountered when the worn carpeting has been direct glued down such as described in an article in the Jan. 14, 1980 issue of Floor Covering Weekly entitled "Direct Glue Down Method Growing in Importance in Commercial Installations", and such as described in the Sep. 19, 1989 paper presented at TIFCON '89 by E. Ellery entitled "Laying Carpets by Total Adhesion", the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. However even with direct glued down existing carpeting removal is a typical procedure before the new carpeting is employed because it is very difficult to get new carpeting to properly adhere to the worn carpeting.
According to the present invention a method of installing new wall to wall carpeting--and flooring applied by that method--are provided which do not require removal of the existing worn wall to wall carpeting. According to the present invention it is possible to apply new carpeting directly over the worn carpeting.
As used in the present specification and claims "wall to wall carpeting" encompasses broadloom (typically in roll form), tile (i.e. carpet tiles), or other conventional wall to wall carpeting types.
According to one aspect of the present invention a method of installing new wall to wall carpeting at a location in which there is existing worn wall to wall carpeting having carpet pile facing upwardly, is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) Applying adhesive to at least the majority of the upwardly facing pile of the worn wall to wall carpeting. And, (b) applying new carpeting having a backing and pile by bringing the new carpet backing into contact with the adhesive, so that the adhesive serves at least in part to substantially permanently adhere the new carpeting to the worn carpeting. The method is made particularly feasible by practicing step (a) by spraying a high molecular weight acrylic ester polymer emulsion adhesive (such a sold by Burlington Industries, Inc. of Greensboro, N.C. under the trade name "PRIMER SEALER") onto the top pile surface of the old carpet. When installing new carpeting over existing carpeting, obtaining a Class I fire rating becomes more difficult. Therefore it is preferred that a fire retardant also be included in the adhesive that is applied over the worn carpeting prior to step (b). Application of the fire retardant preferably is accomplished by adding the fire retardant to the adhesive and spraying them on together.
Typically there is the desirable further step of cleaning the worn carpeting substantially immediately prior to the practice of step (a), not only for hygiene purposes but also to ensure a better bond between the adhesive and the backing of the new carpeting (which preferably is a vinyl backing such as is provided in THERMOBOND 6 carpeting available from Burlington). Cleaning may be practiced by vacuuming and/or shampooing or steam cleaning.
Typically the worn wall to wall carpeting, if broadloom, has a first width and step (b) is practiced by applying strips of carpeting each having a second width which is about half or less than the first width. Alternatively, if the worn carpeting is in the form of adhesively secured carpet tiles step (b) is most typically practiced by applying approximately six foot wide rolls of new carpeting, such as the Burlington THERMOBOND 6 product discussed above.
According to another aspect of the present invention a floor covering for a hard surface floor is provided comprising the following components: Worn broadloom or tile wall to wall carpeting having a backing and a top pile surface, with the backing of the worn carpeting secured to the floor hard surface; New wall to wall carpet having a backing and a top pile surface; And, adhesive covering at least the majority of the worn carpeting top pile surface for adhering the backing of the new carpet directly to the top pile surface of the worn carpet. Preferably there also is a flame retardant on at least the majority of the worn carpet top pile surface, of sufficient amount to obtain a Class I fire rating. As described above with respect to the method, the adhesive preferably comprises a high molecular weight acrylic ester polymer emulsion adhesive, and the fire retardant may be included in the adhesive. Desirably the new wall to wall carpeting comprises a plurality of strips of vinyl backed carpeting such as the Burlington THERMOBOND 6, in which case the strips of new carpeting are about six feet wide (and the worn broadloom wall to wall carpeting is at least about 12 feet wide while the carpet tiles are usually about 18 inches or 24 inches square). While the worn carpeting may be conventional carpeting applied by tacking, with or without padding, to the hard floor surface, the invention is particularly suitable for use with worn commercial carpeting that has been adhesively secured directly to the hard floor surface (or adhesively secured to padding that is adhesively secured directly to the hard floor surface).
Another embodiment of the invention may make use of the techniques of an existing commercial product which utilizes "TAC-FAST" tape. The TAC-FAST tape product, which is generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,658 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein) includes a wall to wall carpet construction in which a tape having hook members (see 22 in FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,658) is applied to an existing hard floor surface (such as concrete), and then new carpeting 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,658) having downwardly facing loop members on the back side thereof is applied to the spaced tapes of hooks, the hooks and loops together providing a fastening system which securely holds the carpeting in place. However existing TAC-FAST tape does not adhere effectively to the pile surface of worn carpeting so that it is not possible to effectively hold the new carpeting in place. Existing TAC-FAST tape pulls loose around its edges after about 24 hours. Therefore according to another aspect of the present invention a method, and flooring, are provided in which the TAC-FAST system can be utilized over existing carpeting by spraying high molecular weight acrylic ester polymer emulsion adhesive onto the top pile surface of the worn carpeting using a tank sprayer, the adhesive being sprayed typically only to where the TAC-FAST tape will be applied, and after the adhesive sets up (dries or cures) the TAC-FAST is applied and the new carpeting is installed and is effectively held in place over the old carpeting since the TAC-FAST tape does not then come loose from the worn carpeting.
According to this aspect of the present invention a method of installing new wall to wall carpeting at a location in which there is existing worn wall to wall carpeting having carpet pile facing upwardly, comprises the steps of: (a) Applying adhesive to selected areas of the upwardly facing pile of the worn wall to wall carpeting at spaced locations thereon; (b) Applying first strips of a separable tape fastening material to the selected areas of adhesive, the strips comprising a backing and one of the fasteners of a separable hook and loop fastener system, with the backing applied to the adhesive; And, (c) applying new carpeting having a backing with the downwardly facing other member of the fasteners of a hook and loop separable fastener system, and a pile facing upwardly, by bringing the separable fastener member of the new carpet backing into contact with the surface of the tape fastener member of the hook and loop fastener system secured to the worn carpeting so that the hook and loop fastener elements interact to hold the new carpeting securely to the worn carpeting. The details of the adhesive, the use of flame retardant (either applied with the adhesive or applied over a majority of the worn carpet top pile surface), and the particular size of the new carpeting, are preferably as described in the first embodiment.
According to another aspect of the present invention a floor covering for a hard surface floor is provided comprising the following components: Worn broadloom or tile wall to wall carpeting having a backing and a top pile surface; The backing of the worn carpeting being secured to the floor hard surface; New wall to wall carpet having a backing with one type of fastener of a hook and loop fastener system, and a top pile surface; At least one strip of material having a backing and a top surface with the other fastener of a hook and loop fastener system for engaging the one fastener of a hook and loop fastener system in holding it in secure contact therewith; And, adhesive adhering the backing of the at least one strip of material directly to the top pile surface of the worn carpet. Typically the loop fastener component is mounted downwardly facing on the new carpet backing, while the hook fastener components are on the surface of the strips of material adhesively secured to the existing carpeting. The other details of the components are preferably as described above for the other embodiments.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for the effective, simple, less labor intensive, and advantageous installation of new wall to wall carpeting/flooring in areas where there is existing broadloom or tile wall to wall carpeting. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the description of the invention, and from the appended claims.